The field of the present invention relates to arc welding and to support and adjustment of the welding electrode as it contacts the material which is being welded. The use of holding arms for welding electrodes permits the welder to remain away from the heat and the associated arcing and sputtering of flying metal. When the operator is further away from the welding piece he is able to take less safety precautions regarding clothing and, therefore, may more readily move to another job or quickly leave the welding site. One of the principal drawbacks of the prior art welder holding arms is its lack of directivity with regard to the welding electrode. That is, while the electode can be moved in the horizontal and vertical direction, the prior art does not provide for changing the angle of the electode of the welder with respect to the workpiece without considerable lateral or vertical movement of the hand controls while maintaining the same point of contact of the electrode with the work piece.
An example of the prior art welder holding equipment is shown in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,046,387 to Matt Kiilunen wherein an adjustable bracket is frictionally secured to a vertically disposed member. The bracket has two parallel bars shown as 72 and 74 in FIG. 2 of the '387 patent. The bracket further has pivot points on each end of the parallel bars shown as 82, 84, 86 and 88. These pivot points are used to allow the one end of the bracket containing the electrode holding means, generally shown as 100, to move vertically when a downward pressure is put on the other end of the bracket at the weighted section 94. Lateral movement of the bracket means is provided by the rollers 42, 44, 46 and 48 on the horizontal section 50 which section is the connecting means between the vertically disposed member 12 and the bracket parallel bars 72 and 74. As seen from the figures, the electrode holding means can be moved vertically or laterally and may be controlled by the operator from the opposite end of the bracket bars.
Although the flexibility in the vertical direction and in the lateral direction is shown by the prior art, there is disclosed no means or method of adjusting the angle that the electrode makes with the piece to be welded. In other words while the electrode may be moved up and down and side to side the angle it makes with the piece to be welded cannot change and, therefore, the welded piece itself must be continuously moved in order to change the angle of the welding process.
All materials to be welded do not have surfaces which continue in a straight line or which are susceptible to being followed by movement in the vertical direction or in the lateral direction alone. That is, some of the material contains corners and edges which require that the electode be moved to a position not as easily available in the prior art. Of course, a hand-held electrode which could be manipulated to fit any position is well known in the art, however, the advantages of the holder arm of the prior art are negated when the operator must come in such close contact with the welding.
The present invention retains the prior art advantages of remoteness from the welding process and in addition permits angular adjustment of the electrode with respect to the workpiece with a minimum lateral or vertical movement of the hand controls. This provides a more uniform flow and control of welding material as well as the ability to cope with uneven angles of the workpiece.